echoooo

Hey, anybody out there? If you still read this blog, leave a comment here for me, kay? I just wanna see who all actually reads this.

Loyal, ch. 1 by Kels

The last thing anyone wants to hear in the morning is their alarm clock. However, when that alarm clock runs out of batteries, it seems as if it’s all you ever depended on. Stephen banged his head on the table in front of him, and gazed forlornly at the toaster, now heating up a toaster strudel, the very last of his food supply. If it didn’t hurry up, He’d get fired and that would be the last of his pay check too.

Stephen hit the eject button and shoved the slightly cold pastry in his mouth, pulling away from the table and racing out the door. He locked it hastily and ran down the sidewalk, chewing his breakfast as he went. He had two minutes. Two minutes to make it to work. Two minutes to-

Stephen halted near the entrance to an alley way as the sounds of a boys laughing echoed back to him. They sounded like they were enjoying themselves, moreover, they sounded like they didn’t want to be caught. Stephen crept down the alley, and they’re words became clear.

“What’s wrong, you stupid mutt? Can’t afford to live?”

“Can’t you get those cans off your tail by yourself?”

“If you run away, we’ll just find you again.”

“Mutt.”

Two minutes, just two minutes and he’d get promoted, boss said so.

“Freak.”

He just had to step into the office and-

The sound of something alive being kicked reverberated through Stephen’s heart.

“Leave it alone!”

He flung himself down the alley, and head-butted the nearest teen in the stomach. The boy yelped in surprise and dropped, while another aimed a good kick at Stephen’s head. He ducked, punching at the boys, only to be thrown back by a sharp kick to the ribs. He coughed loudly, glaring at the two boys, who just stared back at him.

They were both rather rough looking, like they’d been in a fight recently, and even though they were clearly younger, they were taller and most likely stronger than him. One of them had a tattoo of a bulldog on his neck, partially hidden by his greasy black hair. The other was a blond, his hair pulled back in a ponytail and his fists had the letters: T H E M written out. Probably a gang logo. They smelled like beer.

Stephen lurched to his feet, wiping a thin trail of blood of his chin. He’d bit his tongue. The teens sneered and started walking towards him. Stephen brought his fists up to his chest, and eyed them wearily. The blond lashed out, an uppercut to the head, and Stephen ducked, kicking the boy’s knee as he went. His partner half roared and launched himself at Stephen, banging the others’ head into the wall with his fist.

Everything was covered instars for a moment, and he felt more blows falling on his chest and head. Then suddenly they stopped. The teens yelled something, but Stephen didn’t catch it. He heard them running away, then light footsteps coming towards him. A soft hand on his forehead brought him to open his eyes. He saw a pair of warm brown eyes gazing at him in alarm, and everything went black.

Wake up. Please wake up.  

Stephen blinked his eyes open. Everything looked soft around the edges, like looking through a cup of water. In fact- Stephen lifted his hand to his face and prodded above his face. Squishy. He sat up, a plastic bag full of water falling onto his lap. He raised an eyebrow at this, and peered around, looking for its’ owner. As he did, he managed to jar his left elbow.

“ARRRRGH!!!!!” He yelled, clutching the offending appendage.  It was wrapped in gauze, tied in a small bow at his wrist. Now he was really curious. How did he get here? Who- Suddenly a fairly tall figure stepped into sight.

It was a girl, around seventeen, with floofy gold hair curving in towards a soft chin. She was dressed in light red with darker red pants, and had a scarf tied loosely around her mouth. She cocked her head to the side and pointed to his arm.

“Umm… do you- are you the one who saved me?” Steven asked, his green eyes meeting her brown. She nodded and walked over to him. She cautiously put her hand on his uninjured shoulder.

“Is arm better?” Her voice sounded muffled, but he figured it was probably just the scarf. She had no accent, yet spoke like a two year old.  

“Er... Yeah. Um, I’m Steven, and you are…?” The girl just blinked at him and pulled a packet of marshmallows from behind her back. She placed them in his lap, and sat down on the floor, staring eagerly at him. At his failure to react, she tugged on his arm.

“Eat!!! You is hungry?” She blinked at him again with her huge brown eyes.

“Um… Sure? But you never told me your-“

“ Better food!”  and with that lengthy speech, she raced away. Steven sighed and rubbed his head with his good arm. What had he gotten himself into?

She came back a few minutes later, a cracked mug full of soup in her hands.

She closed her eyes and smiled, her head bowed and holding the soup right under Stevens nose. He reached to take it, but managed to jar his arm again. She drew her eyebrows together and frowned. (Or so Steven assumed, the scarf still covered her mouth.)

She carefully dipped the spoon, that she had brought along, into the soup and held it in front of his mouth. He hesitated, but the steady light in her eyes reassured him and he accepted it gratefully. The soup was a bit hot, but salty and filling. The smell in and of itself was intoxicating, but the taste was even better. It was chicken broth, but with something more, a combo of spices that made all the difference.

When the bowl was empty, Stephen was feeling tired, and after thanking the girl, he drifted into a deep sleep.

Wasp, Turkeys and buttons... Oh my.

We went yesterday to go look at a house we might be buying. Of course, the first thing i see as we pull in? Turkeys. For any who don't know, I am very frightened of turkeys. Up in the driveway however, a large white duck was sitting, a duck i have since dubbed Alphonse. He was pretty nice, for a duck. The house is really old, kinda fall-apart-y. The tiles in the kitchen weren't glued down, the roof leaked and the floorboards on the deck were unstable. But it was cool too! it seemed to be an adventure waiting to happen! Looking down off the deck, i spotted a large glittering pile of buttons on the ground. So, when we get down there, I of course go over to them and look over them. After a peek underneath the house, i was about to head back to the others, when a stinging insect, (never saw it) stung my back. Of course I was shouting and clawing at my back, while mom was pushing me away from where we were. I dont know why it stung me, but I got it three times to the back. (pouting) All i wanted was to look at the shineys...

-Kels

Betrayed

Will grinned happily, crouched over the campfire.

“Soup’s ready!” He chirped, cheery as ever. “Can you go tell Karee and Stephen for me?” Marigold looked up from the string bracelets she was making, and nodded.  Nimbly, she sprang to her feet and skipped in the direction their companions had gone. She followed the trail their feet had made in the grass, and paused on the edge of a small clearing.

She spotted her two friends, standing side by side, looking at the stars. Marigold took one step forward, and froze. They were holding hands. She was grinning, and he was whispering too softly to be heard from where Mari stood. Slowly, Karee turned and faced Stephen, and lifted a hand to ruffle his orange hair. He placed his hand on her cheek, slightly caressing it with his fingers.

Then, as the dog girl watched, her master began to lean forward, closer and closer to Karee’s face. And he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he put his free hand on the small of her back.

Marigold stood frozen in shock. She thought he- but he’d never said so- but she thought he knew- maybe he didn’t care? Her mind swirled in pain and sorrow .Her eyes started to fill. She was petrified, watching the boy she loved most kissing someone else.

Finally she couldn’t stand it anymore. She turned and started to run away, but tripped over a fallen branch. She landed heavily on her side, startling the lovers out of their kiss. Stephen whipped his head around to stare at her, and the tear she had been holding in slid down her cheek, clearly reflected in the moonlight.

She wiped her eyes on her over-long sleeves, and scrambled to her feet. She motioned shakily towards the campsite, and turned away. Stephen called out to her, but she ran, barely watching her feet, in the direction she’d pointed. She emerged into the campsite, and although he saw the tear stains, the look on Mari’s face told her to leave her alone. She curled up in her sleeping bag, and pulled it over her head. She had cried herself to sleep by the time the others came back.

Willy Wonka aand the Chocolate Factory

"A little nonsense now and then is practiced by the wisest men." -Wonka

Lullaby

This is that song i told you about! It's so pretty...emworhaxl,rwjuicl nvtherianl... Sorry! fell asleep on the keyboard!

Story: Albino (temporary title) ch. 4 Tech by Kelsie

Tech

Shiro trudged through the snow into
the dump, with Acorn not too far behind him. Despite the darkness of the late
night hours, Shiro made his way perfectly to a large fridge lying uselessly in
a heap of broken wood. Propping his bike against an old scratching post, Shiro
leaned forward and pulled up the door of the fridge. The monster of a cooling device had had its'
back torn out, and was now posted as a disguise for the opening to their
hideaway.
Acorn, coming up behind Shiro,
whistled a shrill birdcall into the hole, and leaned her ear to hear a reply.
With a muffled thump, a light turned on below them and a ladder was forced into
the opening. Small hands reached up and took the bike from Shiro, and their
owner ran excitedly around the two teens on the ladder until they reached the
floor.
A rather energetic six year old, who
had propped up the ladder for them, bounced up and down on his heels as Shiro
came forward and ruffled his uncombed brown hair. Dressed in a long sleeved red
sweatshirt and a pair of hand-me-down jeans, the boy was as constantly hyper as
his nickname suggested. They called him Rocket.
"I keep trying to figure out
how you get that ladder in the air, Rocket." Shiro commented fondly.
"Have you been good today?" Shiro absently pulled off his cloak and hung
it on a dilapidated hat stand by the wall. Rocket raced around the room,
talking so fast that Shiro had a tough time figuring out what he was saying.
Maybe something about flying? He left Acorn in Rocket's clutches and escaped
through a door.
As Shiro made his way down the
quiet, seemingly deserted hallway, he began to think again about the girl in
the snow, wondered if she was an orphan like them, if she had parents, or
siblings. The only siblings here were Acorn and-
"Where are you going Shiro?
Your room is down the other hallway!" Samuel said. The small teen was
standing in the doorway of his room, looking frail in the strobe lights coming
from behind him. His left arm hung uselessly by his side.
"Still up Tech?" Shiro
said as he dragged his attention away from Samuel's arm. "You should get
some sleep..." Shiro already knew the boy would be up all night. He always
was. The kid spent all night on his
computer, surfing the web and finding deals for Shiro to check out.
"Too busy." Samuel sighed.
"I'm waiting for the next orders to come in, looking for new ones, and
trying to learn Japanese." Samuel scratched his useless arm and glanced
anxiously at the glow coming from his doorway. "I need to get back to
work. How 'bout you go to sleep yourself, you look queasy. 'Night." The
boy returned to his cave, slamming the door behind him.
The noise echoed down the corridor,
and mixed with the thumps of Shiro's shoes as he turned towards the room he
shared with Cardinal. He rapped lightly on the door, before pulling the knob
outward and stepping in.
The room was a peculiar sight to be
honest, half clean and half messy, with two boats placed on either side. One of
the boats was stacked up on a tall mound of crates, with a ladder tossed carelessly
on the floor beside it. The hollowed out shell was completely engulfed in a
mess of pillows and blankets, and a freckled arm stuck out over the side.
Snoring issued from inside. Glow-in-the-dark stars were plastered to the
ceiling, and several model airplanes hang precariously over half of the room. Drawings
of gliders and airplanes littered the floor, and piles of laundry created an
obstacle course to the bed. A cluttered desk was propped up in the corner,
creaking ominously as Shiro tip-toed to his side of the room.
In direct contrast, Shiro's side was
neat and orderly, his boat-bed was neatly made, and his clothes were stacked cleanly
on his spotless desk. Shiro sat onto his bed, holding his head in his hands.
With a thump he collapsed into the cushions and pillows that made the boat a
suitable bed, rubbed his eyes and stared up at his blank side of the ceiling. He
closed his eyes, but sleep just wouldn't come. Across the room, his best friend
groaned and flopped onto his stomach, snoring loudly. Shiro pulled on a pair of
moth-eaten earmuffs and continued to stare moodily at the ceiling.
This had originally been Acorn's
room, when he had first took her in, on that night so long ago, but was passed
on to Shiro when she found a better one. Now she slept in a fabric and yarn
store a few rooms down, where she used the materials to make and patch up the
groups' clothes. For some strange reason, she enjoyed that. It was nearly
impossible to Navigate through her room and Shiro hardly new how she did it.
String and yarn strung from all the many hooks and notches, a literal
spider-web of fabric. She had apparently been infatuated with crafts since she
was little, or, that’s how Samuel described it anyway.
Samuel… Shiro rolled over. Samuel was Acorn’s little brother.
His arm was hurt in an accident, a car crash that killed their parents. He was
in bad shape that night, when Acorn found them, and they were certain that he
was dying. He drifted in and out of consciousness, mumbling incoherently in his
sleep. After nearly a week, he was growing weaker, pale as a sheet and barely
breathing. That was when Asa came. He stumbled into the dump and ran smack into
Shiro, but didn’t seem any more than a bit alarmed at his appearance. Asa knew
a bit more about taking care of sick people than they did, and soon Samuel was
looking much better. But his arm… well it wouldn’t work anymore. Asa thought
that maybe, it was something to do with his spine, but they were way too poor
for a hospital visit.
A month after Samuel’s recovery, they found the computer lab
a few doors down from the main storage room. Samuel claimed it as his room,
along with nearly all of the electronics inside. He taught himself to type with
one hand, and Shiro how to read; and soon the boy had gained himself a
nickname. Tech. The boy spent most of his time on the computer, looking for
trades on zMoat. Turns out a lot of people like vintage clothes and old bike
gear. Of course, most people request an address to send their money to, so
Shiro often made trips to disclosed areas to make the switch. Samuel made all
of the transactions. He kept accounts and bank notes, and organized the grocery
list. He didn’t get out much.
He seemed to be convinced he could still ride a bike. With
one arm. On busy streets. Of course the older kids had all refused, but he
often had tried to sneak out. That is until the argument.
Shiro pulled his pillow over his head as Cardinal’s snoring
reached a crescendo. It was hard for a person to hear himself think in there.
The fight was bad. Samuel had tried to sneak out with his
bike again, and was nearly hit by a car. When Shiro and Asa finally found him,
he was shaking on the side of the road. That night, Asa and Samuel were simply
talking, when war broke out. Samuel was on his feet, yelling that ‘just because
he was a cripple doesn’t mean he can’t do anything right’ and Asa was shouting,
face red and temper rising, ‘that after all he had done, Samuel still didn’t
trust him’ . It went on for several heated minutes before Asa suddenly yelled
out: “STOP BEING SUCH A BABY, MARIE!!!!!” Then there was silence. Asa went
paler than Shiro, and simply turned and walked out of the room. The next day he
apologized to Tech and said he could do as he wished, as long as he was
careful. But Samuel hadn’t tried to sneak out since.
Shiro
often wondered who Marie was, but no-one knew much about Asa’s past. Only that
he was studying medicine, and had no family. There were always shadows under
his eyes, and he didn’t sleep well. But he didn’t talk about his past. Not many
kids here did. Shiro’s eyes closed. Maybe he’d ask the girl about her past
tomorrow. Maybe she wouldn’t scream when she saw him. Maybe.

~K
~A
~H